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The government shutdown impasse is now in its fourth week, with no end in sight.
The bad thing about it is that it is partisan political theater. Both President Donald Trump and the so called “Democratic” Party can’t come to an agreement because they can’t see eye-to-eye on how they want the presidential election in 2020 to turn out.

One of the great truths about this crazed and unprecedented regime in the Oval Office has been expressed in a phrase you see sometimes on bumper stickers: “Elect a Clown; Expect a Circus.”
Yes, he is a clown and it is a circus. Now, though, with the longest government shutdown in our history, and people not getting paychecks, he’s starting to cause real damage that people can feel in their everyday lives. And he will pay the price for that.

The 2019 General Assembly officially commenced on Wednesday, January 9th at noon. Kirk Cox remains the Republican Speaker of the House, and I could not be more pleased to have him lead us as we continue to advance Virginia forward during the 400th anniversary of this legislative body. Republicans continue to maintain a slim majority of 51-49 as we debate a number of important issues including state tax conformity, gambling, and Interstate 81.

Without passing a single bill, the 2019 session of the Virginia General Assembly made history. This is the General Assembly’s 400th anniversary.
A lot has changed since that first meeting of 22 elected burgesses (the 17th Century equivalent of delegates) in Jamestown. But, I can think of two important details that are exactly the same as they were 400 years ago. Those participating are chosen by the people and every day of session begins with prayer.

The gavel banged down at noon last Wednesday signaling the start of the 2019 General Assembly session and the 400th anniversary of the Virginia legislature. What started 400 years ago with 22 elected Burgesses meeting in Jamestown continues today with 40 elected Senators and 100 elected Delegates at the capitol designed by Thomas Jefferson in Richmond.

The Virginia General Assembly convened its 2019 session this week. There’s been some anticipation of this year’s session, as the General Assembly marks its 400 th anniversary. Four centuries later, Virginia’s legislature describes itself as “the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World.”
For its first 80 years, the General Assembly met in Jamestown. The 22 elected

If you’re old enough to remember the political battles of the 1970s, then you remember the fight in those days over the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Backward, right-wing forces, who always desire to keep women down, assailed us with hysterical predictions about what would happen were it to pass.
I’d honestly forgotten how over the top some of those things were, until a recent letter to the editor here brought it all back.

The current impasse between President Donald Trump and the Bolshe .... uh ... “Democrats” gives a good picture of what legislative priorities will be for 2019. It does not bode well for this year, or next year for that matter.